1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bird feeders and more particularly to a multi-station bird feeder having a squirrel guard to protect the bird food from squirrels or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Bird enthusiasts often set up feeding stations for feeding birds and also for being able to watch the birds when they are eating. Larger birds often eat the food first and prevent smaller birds from using a feeder. However, squirrels have been notorious for eating bird seed before any birds have an opportunity to eat the seed. Many devices have been designed to try to prevent squirrels from getting at the food which includes the following:
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,104 issued Sep. 19, 1989 to Vandiver, a bird feeder is disclosed with a squirrel guard and a peaked roof. The squirrel guard is mounted on the base platform of the feeder 10 and includes roller elements which extend completely around its perimeter. The elements rotate to prevent the animal from climbing past the guard onto the feeder.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,460 issued Mar. 23, 1993 to Loken, a tube-shaped bird feeder is disclosed with a tiltable perch on the bottom of individual bird feeders which allows a person to control the maximum weight of a bird that can feed on the feeder. The feeders can be gang mounted on a post stand to permit multiple birds to eat at the feeders. A domed shape saucer with an annular trough collects spilled seed.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,239 issued Apr. 27, 1993 to Stolwein, a bird feeding device with a squirrel guard is disclosed. The bird feeder comprises a plurality of cylindrical bird seed containers disposed side-by side and parallel to each other and open at the top to provide longitudinally slots. A plurality of trough means having slanted sidewalls extend along the length of the slots. A feedbox is provided with a lid and mounted on four posts which extend from the bottom of base tray. The width of slots are wide enough for birds to get the bird seed but too narrow to permit a squirrel,s mouth or jaws to enter slots to access the seed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,835 issued Oct. 18, 1994 to Freed, a marauder-deterrent bird feeder and platform slide assembly is disclosed including a hollow upright pole adapted at a top end to support the bird feeder and platform subassembly mounted about the pole for undergoing reciprocal movement between the bottom and top ends of the pole. There are lower and upper pluralities of guide rollers respectively mounted to the lower and upper ends of the platform subassembly and rollably engaging the pole below and above the platform subassembly so as to movably support the platform subassembly on the pole, and means mounted to the pole and connected to the platform subassembly for biasing the platform subassembly to move upward toward a raised home position below the top end of the pole when there is no animal weight on the platform, the biasing means being yieldable away from the raised home position to permit the platform subassembly to move downward in response to the weight of a marauding animal on the platform.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,687 issued Jul. 1, 1997 to Nylen et al. a squirrel baffler is disclosed which is generally conical in shape and mounted on a bird feeder pole.